Abdominal support



Sept. 2l, 1948. J. cxDlssEN ABDOMINAL SUPPORT Filed Aug. 9, 1946'Ifo/zii C y 'r1-ORNE v. v

Patented Sept. 21, 1948 am' 'Smeg l John Cidissen, lios `lflngeles,

. Application August 9, 19416;ISei-iazlsNoSBgiQ.. i

:1f plaint. (c1. 12s-96) My invention relates to abdominal supports,

and it has for a purpose the provision of a sup port which is primarilydesigned for supporting the abdomen in such an effective manner as topreclude the possibility of abdominal rupture, but which can also beused as a truss to eiiectively hold a hernia in place.

It is also a purpose ci my invention to provide an abdominal supportcharacterized by its structural simplicity and low cost of manufacture,and also by its ability to adequately support, without discomfort, thelower part of the abdomen where ruptures usually occur, and by suchsupport to greatly reduce the possibility of intestinal ruptures.

I will describe only one form of abdominal support embodying myinvention, and will then point out the novel features thereof in claim.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a view showing in perspective, one form of abdominal supportembodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional View taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary perspective view of the body of the support.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is front elevational View, on a reduced scale, of my abdominalsupport as applied to the abdomen of the wearer,

' With specific reference to the drawings, my invention in its presentembodiment, comprises a supporting body designated generally at B, whichincludes a sheet I5 of rigid material preferably constructed ofaluminum; a liner or pad lli of compressible material; and a fabriccovering l1. The sheet I5 is of concave-convex form, and of a size tocover the lower part of the abdomen when applied thereto, it beingunderstood that the concave side of the sheet is against the abdomen,and its curvature is such as to conform to the lower part thereof.

The liner I6 is preferably formed of sponge rubber such as latex, and itis cemented or otherwise permanently secured to the inner concave sideof the sheet. The liner I6 completely covers the concave side of thesheet and is of a thickness to form a padding for the sheet, so that itcan be worn with comfort and will not irritate the skin, as the porosityof the rubber allows of a limited circulation of air between the skinand the sheet.

In order to prevent the aluminum sheet l5 from marking the clothing, andto enhance the appearance of the body B as a whole, a fabric covering l1is ,provided4 .on the. Jaimeror conyeirfside ofdf'he sheet. The coveringmay be inthe form of a sheet of linen extended over the edges of thesheet I5, and glued or cemented to the sheet.

For properly mounting the body B on the body of the wearer and so thatit adequately supports the abdomen as intended, I provide a belt Dwhich, in the present instance, is composed of three parts I8, I9, and20. The parts I8 and I9 are constructed of inelastic material such ascanvas, and are identical in form having Wide por'- tions Ia and IBG.,respectively, and narrow portions I8b and I-9b. The part 20 is formed ofan elastic fabric having a longitudinal stretch, and it is secured atits ends by stitching to the confronting ends of the parts I8 and I9.

The belt D is so associated with the body B as to allow the necessarylongitudinal adjustment thereof to lit a particular person, so that thebody will be held firmly against the adbomen to properly support theabdomen. Such association is effected by a loop 2l of canvas or otherifabric secured by stitching 22 to sheet l5, and through which the beltportion |817 is slidably extended.

The free extremity of the belt portion I9b is folded on itself to form aloop 23, and by stitching 24 extended through the belt and the sheet I5,the loop is not only made permanent but it is xedly secured to thesheet. In this loop 23, a conventional buckle 2'5 is secured and so asto be in longitudinal -alinement with the loop 2l so as to receive thebelt portion I8b.

The belt portion I9b is further secured to the sheet I5 by stitching 26,and between the stitchings 24 and 2B, a loop 21 is secured to the beltportion |911, for receiving the free end of the portion l8b. Thestitchings 22, 24, and 26, in each instance, extend through the metalsheet I5, and for this purpose the sheet is formed with perforations V28as shown in Fig. 3.

In the use of my abdominal support, it is applied to the torso of thewearer as illustrated in Fig. 5, wherein it will be seen that the body Bis positioned to overlie the lower portion of the abdomen where thegreatest muscular strains occur, and where, as a consequence, theruptures usually occur. With the belt D extended about the torso, andproperly adjusted to firmly hold the body B with its padded side againstthe abdomen, it becomes manifest that because of the concave-convexcontour of the body, and the fact that the sheet I5 is inflexible, thebody functions to so adequately support the lower portion of theabdomen, as to preclude the possibility of rupture.

Because the belt D has the elastic section 2U therein, it can as a wholestretch lengthwise and thus yieldingly but rmly hold the body B in placeon the abdomen, without any discomfort to the wearer.

Where one already has a. hernia, -my support aiords effective means forrmly holding the hernia retracted into natural position with respect totheadjacent portions of the intestines, thereby .eliminating pain ordiscomfort to the wearer.

Although I have herein shown 'and described only one form of abdominalsupport embodying my invention, it is to be understood that variouschanges and modications may be made therein without departing from thespirit of my invention and the spirit and scope of the appended claim.

I claim:

An abdominal support, including: a sheet of zo usV pad of compressilblematerial covering the concavo side of said sheet; said sheet havingperforations therein; and a belt having its buckle end secured to theconvex side of said sheet by stitching extending through saidlperforations; and a belt loop secured to the convex side of said sheetby stitching extending through other perforations in said sheet, andreceiving the other end of saidbelt.y

JOHN ACVIDIKSSEN.

REFERENCES CITED l The following references are of record in the ie ofthis patent:

` UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,727,663 Psrkison Sept. 1o,1929 2,117,621

Mills May 17, 1938

